MAR 27 2014

MAR 27 2014

Free Class Saturday at 11AM Come see what CrossFit is really all about! No experience required, open to all abilities!

Rogue Fitness and Old School CrossFit Values

“CrossFit is so popular right now!” is something I hear all the time. It seems like everyone that I talk to expects CrossFit to be THE fitness trend of 2014. It always makes me laugh a little because the same thing was said when MTM opened almost 3 years ago!

The passage of time and the growth in popularity have fundamentally changed where CrossFit is. It’s changed who comes into CrossFit, who works in CrossFit, and the values that these people extol in their businesses.

Consider this: When MTM CrossFit opened there were about 3,400 CrossFit Affiliates. Now, not quite 3 years later, there are 7,200 – nearly DOUBLE.

Back in the day it was common for affiliate owners to have met and discussed their gym with CrossFit Founder Coach Glassman. When MTM opened it was UNHEARD of an affiliate opening in a larger space that 2,000sqft. It was UNHEARD of an affiliate going into massive debt to finance their equipment and operating expense. Now those things are common where as having met, let alone had a conversation with Coach Glassman, is something a majority of owners haven’t done. (I have on multiple occasions and heeded his direct advice on when and how to expand).

My point is this: While change is to be expected in everything, things certainly have changed a lot in the 6, almost 7, years I’ve done CrossFit.

Which is why I love working with “old school” CrossFit companies like Rogue Fitness.

Rogue makes a majority of the equipment we have at MTM CrossFit. Over the life of our gym its held up extremely well. But on two separate occasions a bar has broken after being dropped, which is very rare. Just a day ago Ty broke the second one so I shot an email over to Rogue to get it replaced just like I’d done with the last one. What I received back was nothing short of awesome:

(Paraphrasing)
“Dude that’s a bummer, sorry about the hassle. Our records show that you’ve got 4 more Rogue Bars. We’re not sure why they’re breaking at your gym but we’re going to replace all of them with new Ohio Bars.”

And they shipped yesterday. BOOM.

In this day and age of companies, even athletes, being like “Shoot CrossFit is hot and I can make a buck before it cools” it’s nice to know that the values and principles that helped build this great CrossFit Community are alive and well. It’s these principles I’ve tried to instill at MTM. It’s these roots that we have to grasp as tightly as we can to keep CrossFit from spinning off the rails.